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Senate executive committee hears three Kent County justice of the peace nominees
Summary
The Senate Executive Committee heard statements and questioning for three Kent County nominees for justice of the peace — Michael Scott Bundick, Cassandra Davis and Ksenia Militinovich — focusing on experience with public service, court process and handling pro se litigants; no confirmation votes were recorded.
Three nominees for justice of the peace in Kent County appeared before the Delaware Senate Executive Committee on the agenda for gubernatorial appointments.
Michael Scott Bundick, who introduced himself as "Scott," told senators he is 51, a lifelong Delaware resident and has dedicated much of his adult life to public service. Senator Townsend questioned Bundick about the role of a justice of the peace in initial bail decision-making amid recent bail-reform changes; Bundick said he would "err on the side of what's best for the public" and that he would rely on judicial training and existing standards before seeking to alter local practice. Committee members emphasized the need for clear written reasoning on bail decisions so reporters and the public can follow court action, and they raised delays in landlord-tenant dockets as an operational concern.
Cassandra Davis said she has more than 20 years of public-service experience across state agencies, including work with the departments for children, youth and their families, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Correction, where she currently serves as director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Davis described her background in juvenile probation and as a quasi-judicial appeals referee and said the JP court often requires a different, more explanatory approach for pro se litigants, with more lenient introduction of hearsay and an emphasis on making procedures intelligible.
Ksenia Militinovich summarized a career that includes legal aid and 10 years in juvenile public defense, service as an appeals referee in the Division of Unemployment Insurance and work through the COVID-19 surge. She said those experiences taught her to be thorough and patient and reinforced the importance of due process.
Committee members thanked the nominees for their service and asked questions about the daily realities of JP dockets, access for self-represented litigants and how nominees would approach fairness in a high-volume setting. The meeting record contains no roll-call confirmation votes on the nominations.
The committee moved on to legislative business after concluding the appointments portion of the agenda.
